Knight's Onrush is a desktop tower defense style game, but it gives you far more bang for your cash. You might wonder just how much can they change / alter / improve / modify ... (you know what I'm saying) this style of game, but actually, Chillingo have made a terrific game out of it. I think it currently dominates the others out there in the genre.

Chillingo is not a new comer to the iPhone app publishing scene, with several hits including Toki Tori and the "old" classic, Zen Bound. But being in the market is not a guarantee for making a successful app. In this case however, they have got it right, on pretty much every count.

Why this is such a good take on this style of game is because it has what usually tops the list of most of us when we play - we want endless siege - and they give it to us. There are loads of enemies coming to get you and I made it to level 10 before I was met with defeat. (Hey I didn't play the easy level!) It was great fun though and slightly insane at the same time.

Ok, so before all that madness, let's have a quick look at it all, starting at the top...

My first impression is that Knight's Onrush has a really slick interface and seems like it gives a proper gaming experience, which I love. You choose the game style when you launch the game. There are 3 types: Campaign, Endless Siege and Madness. Campaign sees you through 12 castles. Each of these castles has a variety on difficulties that you may encounter. This can range from the number of days in which you have to defend it, to the type of enemies that will try to bring you down. I normally prefer endless 'suicide' play but I found these campaigns pretty fun and challenging. On some of the levels the castle is on the left which actually was a nice break because I was playing it a little obsessively and my fingers were close to cramping! It can be a bit furious with the action at some points so be warned! Note: In the options there is also a 'cheat' option, which will unlock all the levels.

Endless Siege is what you would expect. It is game play until your castle has met with destruction. Try it on all levels, but I can't seem to get very far just yet. You can change the level to easy if you are finding it too difficult, but it is fun on the default.

Lastly there is Madness. I don't think it's worth my time to discuss this. Try it if you dare :D

Things of note about this game: The Dragon Alter for sacrifices was awesome. When I put my first enemy on there and they were eaten it was so funny, I had to go show my kids right away, to which "aww cool" followed. It really has some unique game play elements that just give it that little bit of game magic I always look for.

I found the cannon to be one of the most useful weapons when playing. It seems to really hit tons of the little enemies with very little thought or aiming which was great when the madness set in. Door upgrades are essential for survival and I waited until I had enough for golden and got that as one of the first upgrades to the tower.

I would also recommend watching the video on game play because there are some good techniques. Things like using the weapons they bring against the enemies is a great tactical strategy to kill a load of them at once. This is especially handy when you get those guys that are invisible for part of the time. You also must sacrifice some enemies in order to get the upgrades so be sure while the first few levels are easy to sacrifice as many as possible.

The only bad point I would bring up is that the sound and sound effects became tiresome very fast. So you may just want to listen to your own tunes instead. Other than that, the game really is a treat!

[youtube 9Gk44AD5S6Y]

Overall at $2.99, I would splash the cash. (It's on sale for $0.99 so grab it!) Since you can play on Endless Siege, there really is no limit to the game. That coupled with the variety of game levels Easy, Medium and Hard, there is scope for playing for a very long time. Be sure to take breaks - don't say I didn't warn you!

iPhone Screenshots

Review disclosure: note that the product reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note that if the developer provides the product or not, this does not impact the review or score.